Lincoln playing for triple crown
D-4, state champions attempting to defend NE title
LINCOLN — Lincoln 11year-old all-star coach Joe Conti is consistent – he wants his District 4 and state champions to face their toughest opponent in the opening game.
Conti loved the fact that Lincoln met District 3 champion East Greenwich in its state tournament opener, and he’s even happier that Lincoln will head to Beverly, Mass. Tuesday night at 5:30 to face Massachusetts champion Taunton East in the New England regional opener with ace Donavon Lopez on the mound.
“I like that because if you’re going to throw your No. 1, throw him in your first game so he’s ready to pitch again Sunday,” Conti said last week at Hien Field. “I would’ve hated to see Taunton East on Thursday night because then you’re planning your pitching for Thursday and you’d never get your ace back for the end of the tournament.”
Taunton East just happened to be the team Lincoln defeated in last season’s New England final in Cranston. And, even though that day’s winning pitcher, righty Ryan Thompson, isn’t with Conti this season, the coach believes his squad matches up well with Taunton East.
Led by hard-throwing righty Ryan McDougall, Sean Murphy and Brayden Cali, Taunton East crushed Brookline, 12-3, in the state final last week. Taunton East handed Lincoln one of its two losses last summer, but Conti is confident with Lopez on the mound, Lincoln can start the inaugural New England 11year-old Invitational with a victory.
“Taunton East is definitely the team to watch because they kept their whole team down,” Conti said.
“They have a dynamic pitcher in McDougall, but we feel like we can match-up with them because our lineup is deeper.”
The key to surviving the five-game-in-fiveday schedule, according to Conti, is pitching. Along with Lopez, Conti said his starting rotation is deep and talented. Will Denio, who earned the save in the state final against East Greenwich, Joey Conti, Jayden Champagne and Mike Boller can also start. Lefty Ethan Gray and Luke Porcaro will see action out of the bullpen.
After Tuesday’s contest against Taunton East, Lincoln will play Vermont state champion Barre Wednesday night. That contest will be followed by Thursday’s game against New Hampshire champion Goffstown. Connecticut runner-up Wallingford, which lost in the state title game to Trumbull, is Friday’s foe and Massachusetts runner-up Brookline is the final pool-play opponent Saturday at noon.
“We gave them one night off after they won the title and now it’s time to refocus,” Conti said. “It’s all about pitching now because you’re playing five nights in a row – and maybe six if you’re fortunate enough to get to the championship game on Sunday. We have enough pitching where we don’t always need to throw Donavon.”
Conti said instead of turning the North Shore into base camp for the week, Lincoln will return home after every game because spending time on the road leads to ‘distractions.” Conti said the town provided the team with a bus for Tuesday’s game.
Unlike last season when Lincoln had dropped a game in the district and state tournaments, Conti’s crew heads to Harry Ball Field off of Route 128 undefeated with a number of mercyrule wins. Conti, however, was pleased Wednesday’s title game was a challenge.
After winning its three previous games by a cumulative score of 39-4, Lincoln used a threerun home run from Ryan Allen to jump out to a lead on East Greenwich after one inning. The District 3 champions held Lincoln at bay for the rest of the game and even had runners on base late in a 4-0 defeat.
“You get so much more out of grinding wins out than blowing teams out,” Conti said. “Last year we had to grind out a win at every level to get to the next level. That’s how you grow as a team. If you’re 10-running teams all along, you forget what it takes to win games. They’re excited and they’re ready.”
If Lincoln survives pool play for a second straight regional, they will play for the New England title Sunday at noon.